Uruguay Digital Nomad Visa: Requirements and Process

Uruguay is one of the few countries in South America with a dedicated permit for remote workers. This guide explains how the Uruguay digital nomad visa works: who qualifies, the requirements, the cost, the application process and how to move to permanent residency if you decide to stay. For every other route, see our guide to legal residency in Uruguay.

What is the Uruguay digital nomad visa?

Technically it is not a visa but a stay permit: the provisional identity document for digital nomads (hoja de identidad provisoria – nómades digitales). Decree 238/022 (August 2022) adapted the provisional identity document of Decree 394/009 to remote work. It allows you to live in Uruguay for up to 180 days while you work for clients or companies abroad, with no Uruguayan employer or contract required.

It is separate from the entry visa: US, Canadian, UK and EU citizens do not need a visa to enter Uruguay, but if your nationality does, you must still get one from a consulate before travelling.

Who can apply?

• Employees of companies based outside Uruguay working remotely.
• Freelancers and self-employed professionals serving foreign clients.
• Entrepreneurs running a foreign business remotely.

The field doesn’t matter (software, design, marketing, consulting): what counts is that your work is remote and for foreign clients or employers.

Uruguay digital nomad visa requirements

	First application	Extension
Identity	Copy of the passport you entered (or will enter) Uruguay with	Valid Uruguayan ID card
Sworn statement	Yes, signed as in your passport	Yes
Criminal record	No	From every country where you lived 6+ months in the last 5 years, apostilled and translated into Spanish
Vaccinations	No	Vaccination record issued by a Uruguayan vaccination centre
Entry visa	Only if your nationality requires one

Is there an income requirement?

The official requirements do not set a minimum income: your remote work is declared under oath. Even so, keep contracts or invoices that show your foreign income at hand, since you will need them if you later apply for permanent residency.

Cost and duration

• Fee: 55.71 UI (indexed units) per application, roughly USD 10. It cannot be paid from abroad.
• Duration: up to 180 days.
• Extension: once, for another 180 days, for a total of about 12 months.

How to apply, step by step

1. Enter Uruguay with your passport (and visa, if needed).
2. Start the application online on gub.uy, with a gub.uy user account or another digital ID.
3. Fill in the form and upload the passport copy and the sworn statement.
4. Pay the fee through the payment methods available in Uruguay.
5. Wait for the email from the Immigration Office directing you to the National Civil Identification Office.
6. Get your Uruguayan ID card.

If you don’t speak Spanish and need to attend any office in person, you must bring an interpreter.

Uruguayan ID card for digital nomads

Once the permit is approved, you are referred to the Civil Identification Office to get a Uruguayan ID card. It makes daily life much easier (banks, rentals, phone plans) and it must be valid when you apply for the extension.

Do digital nomads pay taxes in Uruguay?

It needs case-by-case analysis. Uruguay’s tax authority treats work physically performed in Uruguay as Uruguayan-source income even when the employer is abroad (DGI ruling 6639 of 2024), and people working from Uruguay for foreign employers contribute to social security (Law 20.130). In addition, anyone who spends more than 183 days in Uruguay in a calendar year becomes a Uruguayan tax resident, subject to personal income tax rules and, potentially, the tax holiday for new residents. Review your situation before applying for the extension: see tax residency in Uruguay.

From digital nomad visa to permanent residency

The digital nomad permit can only be extended once. If you want to stay, the route is permanent residency, proving your foreign income as means of support with a notarial income certificate. If you also hold the nationality of a Mercosur country (for example Argentina or Brazil), you can go straight to Mercosur residency, with no proof of income.

	Digital nomad permit	Permanent residency
Duration	180 days + 180-day extension	No expiry
Income	Sworn statement	Notarial income certificate (general route)
Criminal record and vaccines	Only for the extension	From the start
Fee	55.71 UI	557.30 UI
Path to citizenship	Not its purpose	Yes, after 3 or 5 years

If you already know you want to stay, applying for permanent residency from the start can save you a second process.

FAQ

Planning to work remotely from Uruguay?

At GlobalTax we help you choose between the digital nomad permit and permanent residency, review your tax position and handle the whole process, in English, Spanish or Portuguese. Contact us.